


Fighting Demons

by wordywarrior



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 14:27:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordywarrior/pseuds/wordywarrior
Summary: Frank Castle was a man who always fought his own demons, but when Karen Page entered his life, he learned he didn’t have to fight them alone.





	Fighting Demons

**Author's Note:**

> For: @wxntersoldiers  
> Laylas4kRiot! Challenge  
> Prompt Lyric: She’s a dwelling place for demons.  
> Pairing: Frank Castle/Karen Page  
> Word Count: 1,369  
> Warnings: Smut-ish/fluff.

Frank knew something wasn’t quite right the moment he opened the door.

The apartment he’d been renting – with a landlord who took cash and asked no questions – wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great, either. It had the basic necessities – four walls, a bed, fridge for beer, and a stove for the occasional hot meal.

What it certainly didn’t have was a woman, and yet, he could smell perfume. The moment the familiar scent wafted over him, he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. It was the only thing that helped him fight the reflex to reach for the gun beneath his coat.

It felt good to hold it, to hang on to that sweet, sweet smell for a moment, but it was a moment he knew couldn’t last. It wasn’t right – her being there – but if he was being honest, he didn’t want her to go. Frank knew he was a selfish bastard, because she deserved more than what he could offer, and he would greedily take what she would give him.

He didn’t have the heart to tell her she was fighting a losing battle, that it would always be too dangerous, and it didn’t matter what either of them wanted because he wasn’t worth the risk. Though not without fault or flaw, she deserved better than him.

She was no angel, but his darkness was not her darkness, and she didn’t deserve to be consumed by the demons he carried.

“Frank?”

It wasn’t so much that she said his name, but the _way_ she said it. That breathy mixture of uncertainty and want in her tone – it did things to his brain. The combination of lust and adrenaline were potent, and when she came out from the bathroom, it hurt just to look at her.

“How did you find me?”

“Are you really asking me that?”

“Alright – new question – what are you doing here?”

The look in her eyes was answer enough, but Karen was a woman who always provided additional clarification if she thought she wasn’t being understood, and she made herself crystal clear when she unraveled the tie of her coat, parted the wool, and let it fall to the floor.

The clothes came off next.

She kept the heels on.

“Jesus, Karen,” he choked out.

Frank saw her nod her head toward the bed not three feet from them. Heard her say she was not going to wait anymore. Got another lungful of that perfume and an eyeful when she walked by. The sun shone in her hair and made it glow, the brightness drowning out all his darkness, pulling him in…

He forgot himself – his name, who he was, and all the reasons why he shouldn’t.

But he remembered to lock the door.

_Six Months Later…_

“Man, what is with you and her?”

Frank shoved his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and shook his head. Curtis wasn’t asking him a question he hadn’t asked himself every, single day, but answer was both simple and complicated, and nothing he wanted to look too closely at.

The bar they’d agreed to meet up at was nothing more than a watering hole, but the beers were cold, the grub was decent, and the patrons tended not to look at one another too closely. They’d been shooting the shit for about an hour before ordering burgers and fries.

“How’s she doing?” he finally asked.

Curtis wiped his hands on a napkin and sighed, “She’s fine. I’m keeping an eye on her.”

“Good – that’s good.”

“Listen, Frank, you know I’m always going to back your play, but this is nuts,” Curtis insisted lowly.

“You think she can’t do it?” Frank asked bluntly.

“If anyone can do it, it’s her. Karen Page is not a woman you say no to.”

He chuckled and popped a fry into his mouth, “You got that damn right.”

“After everything that went down, she’s made some powerful friends, and even more powerful enemies. You both need to be careful,” Curtis warned. “You keep pulling on these threads…”

Frank knew they were both looking down the barrel of a loaded gun and hoping the trigger-happy person holding it wouldn’t fire. He’d been told he could start over – new identity and all that – but the slate was never going to be wiped clean.

He’d spilled too much blood and rubbed too many people the wrong way. He’d pulled the curtain back, exposed all their dirty misdeeds, and they would never thank him for it. They would owe him, yes, but they’d never thank him.

Everything he’d ever done, he’d have to carry, which was just fine with him, but Karen made him want more. She made him want his name back.

Made him want his life back.

The possibility of being pardoned had once seemed so far-fetched, but now, it wasn’t. Frank was still keeping a low profile, but the world seemed to have moved on. The media were no longer focused on him, and the government had washed their hands clean of him, which meant Karen could quietly do what she did best, and he could be there for her when the cages were rattled.

If they won this – everything would change.

“Is she worth it?” Curtis wondered. “The risk?”

Frank didn’t hesitate, “Yeah, she’s worth it.”

_Eighteen Months Later…_

“So, I did it.”

Frank turned away from the fridge and cocked his head, “You did?”

Karen laced her fingers together and nodded, “Yup.”

“When?”

“Last week.”

Karen had clearly grown tired of waiting for him to make a decision; like the ballsy woman she was, she’d gone ahead, and made the decision for both of them. Frank knew very well what he was capable of and the lengths he would go to when he wanted to see something done. He didn’t hesitate or flinch, and he should have known Karen wouldn’t, either.

She was sitting on the counter, legs swaying to-and-fro, when her cellphone rang. Karen answered in the authoritative tone he’d become so accustomed to; it was polite and professional at first, but he knew the moment she heard something she didn’t like. Her demeanor changed entirely and her voice went from cordial to glacial in an instant.

“That is not good enough,” she retorted. “And in case you’ve forgotten, I know where the bodies are buried. It wouldn’t be hard to see that yours gets added to the pile.”

Frank chose to tune out the rest of the tense conversation. Instead, he focused on Karen and everything they’d built together. It had taken them a long time to get to a good place. It would be so easy for someone to dismantle it — either blow it up, or take it apart bit by bit, it didn’t matter, because the result would be the same. What they had could be destroyed by the push of a button or the stroke of a pen, and if was, he wasn’t sure he’d survive it.

“Frank?”

Apparently, the conversation was over, but the look in her face suggested they’d only just begun. When he moved to stand in front of her, Karen hooked her legs around his waist, pulled him in close, and threaded her arms around his shoulders.

“It’s done,” she told him. “We did it.”

Frank nodded his head, lifted her from the counter, and moved toward the bedroom. They didn’t quite make it, but it didn’t matter. With her wrapped around him, whimpering his name, calling out that she loved him, nothing else mattered.

And when she told him he had has name back, that it could never be taken away from him again, he made love to her twice more – once on the floor in the hallway and once in the shower.

“You believe in miracles now?” she asked when they finally made it to the bed.

He shook his head and held her tight, “No, but I believe in you.”

When Karen fell asleep in his arms, he knew he’d die for her. Even if _she was a dwelling place for demons_ , Frank knew he was no longer fighting them alone. And those demons?

They didn’t stand a chance against the two of them.


End file.
